goodfellow



(No Model.)

J. H. GOODPELLOW- Y TOOL FOR ATTAOHING SHOE BUTTONS.

No. 269,408. Patented Dec. 19, 1882.

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W i i neJses: [n venior, M 4/ #%Wy///W %v@ UNITED STATES PATENT Grinch.

JOHN H. GOODFELLOW, OFTROY, NEWV YORK, ASSIGNOR, BY DIRECT AND MESNE ASSIGNMENTS, TO THE GQODFELLOYV MANUFACTURING OOM- PANY, OF SAME PLACE.

TOOL FOR ATTACHING SHOE-BUTTONS.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 269,408, dated December 19, 1882, Application filed September 18, 1882. (No model.)

To all whom it may concern Be it known that I, JOHN H. GooDFELLow, of the city of Troy, county of Rensselaer, and State of New York, have invented a new and useful Improvement in Tools for Attaching Shoe-Buttons,of which the following is a specification.

My invention relates to the improvement of that class of implements which are made for attaching buttons to shoes and other similar articles by means of staples that are passed through the eye of the button and the leather or material, and are clinched on the under side of the latter. These devices are usually constructed with'two handles having a tongs-joint and two nipper endjaws, and to which are connected various kinds of additional mechanism to attach the buttons.

The object of my invention and improvement is to simplify the construction of such devices, so as to reduce the cost of their production, and to make them better applicable to the use for which they are designed. In the accompanying drawings, forming a part of this specification, there are shown sixteen vfigures illustrating my invention, and in all of which the same designation of parts by letter reference is used.

Figure 1 shows a side elevation of my improveddevice, with parts of the jaws and a top leaf-spring shown in vertical section. This view also shows in side elevation cutting plier edges upon the inside of the handles, and in a figure annex at A A plan views of these plier parts as removed from the device and both turned toward the sight. Fig. 2 illustrates in perspective the same device that is shown in Fig. 1, with'parts of the handles omitted. Fig. 3 shows in a side elevation and vertical section a modification of my improved device with parts of the handles and a portion of the lower jaw omitted. Fig. 4 illustrates in a side elevationand vertical section another modification of my invention with the lower jaw and parts of the handles omitted. Fig. 5 shows a longitudinal vertical section of a part of the lowerjaw ofthe tool, taken through one of the sinks formed therein. Fig. 6 is a perspective of the under jaw of my device, showing the attachment of an auxiliary spring-plate for holding a clinching plate when thus used in connection therewith for attaching a button. Fig. 7 shows an end elevation of a part of the jaws and leaf-spring, a cross-section of the material, and lower jaw taken vertically, that of the latter being taken through one of the sinks formed in the jaw on its upper surface. This illustration also shows the position of the button and staple, with the latter as having been forced through the material and commencing to turn up irom the sinks to clinch. Fig. 8 shows an attached button and a vertical sec tiou ofthe material on the line ot'attachment. Fig. 9 shows a front view of the jaw ends, a

vertical section through the material, the but- 6 5 ton and staple being shown in elevation, and the lower jaw, the plate for holding the clinching-plate, and the material being shown in cross vertical section. Fig. 10 shows 11 attached button in elevation,the clinchi -pla'te and fabric being shown in vertica section through the staple in the line of a achment. Fig. 11 shows a plan view of aclin ing-jplate, and Figs. 12 and 13 oppositely t. ken vertical sections of the same plate. Fig. 14 shows an- '75 other form of clinching-plate. Fig. 15 shows a top view of the sink made in the upper surface of the under jaw to use the staple in connection with a clinching-plate, and Fig. 16 a top view of the sink formed in the top of the 8c underjaw to apply the button and staple alone.

The several parts of the implement containing my invention are designated by letter reference as follows J and J indicate the two jaws of the device, and H H its handles, which are connected by means of the intermediately-placed pivot andtongs-joint indicated at 'l. The letter Sdesignates aleaf-sprin g attached.

to one of the handles, back of the pivot Tqat 0' B. This leaf-spring on its free end isslot'ted as indicated at (0 and its free end is curved.

upwardly, as designated at a. I When the jaws are closed the free end of the spring projects to S come together.

away from the upperja'w,J',and is only drawn to contact with the latter when the jaws are closed against the face of the spring.

The letter O indicates a slot or opening formed in the front of the upper jaw.

The operation of these parts is as follows: When used to attach a button to a shoe or other similar article, the jaws are opened so that the top ofthe upperjaw, J, and the spring A shoe-button having a staple inserted within its eye is placed with the latter flatwise in the spring-slot a and in the upper jaw slot, 0, the body of the button being above the spring, inside of the curve end, and the staple-top beneath the under surface of the upper jaw, J. As thus placed, when the handles are operated to close the jaws the spring S draws back against the effort, and its curved end in drawing back under the button acts as a wedge to raise it, so

as to firmly hold it with the staple-top beneath the surface of the underjaw. As thus held, the downwardly-pointed staple ends are easily forced throu gh the intermediately-placed 2 leather or material, to clinch upon the upper surface of the under jaw, as will hereinafter be more fully described.

The spring S, attached at 13, back of the pivot, and constructed with the slot a and curved end a, forms the leading feature of my 5 ed and attached, performs the double purpose of holding the button and forcing apart the invention, 'and its operation as constructed would be the same whether the staple was held by the upper jaw, as shown, or in any other equivalent manner. The spring S, as constructjaws after the staple has been clinched.

The upperjaw, J, is recessed .on its top 1ongitudinally, as indicated at e, which recess 40 bevels downwardly toward the front from the crown of thejaw. There is shown as formed -on the under surface of the upperjaw, at rightangles to its sides, the cross-recess t. This recess is beveled so as to incline from the front 5 inwardly and upwardly to unite with the 4 0 wire form tops.

but when the latter is firmly secured at B, so

as to prevent the former action of the spring, the recess 0 may be omitted.

The operation of the spring S,as constructed and attached to hold the button and staple 6o cdnnection with the upper jaw, is the same whet; the staple is used in connection with a clinching-plate as it is when used to attach a button without one. To use the implement without a clinching-plate, the sinks a a are formed with inclined surfaces in the upper face of the underjaw, and as the staple-points are forced through the leather, as before described, by the action of the spring andjaws, the staplepoints engage with the inclined surfaces of the sinks and are turned up to reenter the leather or material, as shown at Figs. 8 and 7.

When a clinching-plate is used to attach the button inconnection with a staple that is held or forced down, as before described, the spring-plate P is attached to the upper surface of the under jaw, as shown at m, with its unattached end free and on three sides surrounding so as to be a little above the raised part of the under jaw containing the sink m,- but when the spring-plate is forced down its upper face and the raised sink-plate d will be horizontally coincident.

To attach and use a clinching-plate, the mechanism is operated in the following manner: Within the space 6 in part inclosed at the sides, over the sink m, is placed the clinching-plate t', (shown at Figs; lland 14,) with its notched edges at the side of the plate beneath the staple-points, and with the slanting sides of the sink at under the staple-points. When thus placed and the staple is forced down, as hereinbefore described, by the spring and upperjaw, the points of the staple pass through the intermediately-placed leather or material, through the notches upon the opposite sides of the plate 11, to engage with the curved sides of the sink, (indicated at Fig. 16,) and from thence to turn upwardly and enter the opening in the center of the plate, and thus clinch, as shown at Fig. 10, the position of the parts IOC at the commencement of the staple puncture bein g indicated at Fig. 9.

The spring S may be variously modified and still produce, in combination with the recess e or its equivalent in the upperjaw and the under surface of the latter, either with or without the cross-recess t, the same result, providedthat the spring S is attached to the implement between its tongs-joint and handles, and hasan equivalently slotted and turned-up free end. I have shown at Figs.3 and 4modifications of the spring S, in which the closing of the jaws (with the spring and upper jaw held together by the button and staple) operate in the same manner, that illustrated at Fig. 3 representing the spring as held within the recess 6 by means of a cross bar or brace, 1', attached to the sides of the recess above the spring.

Another feature of my invention,to better adapt theimplement for the use designed,is the manner of applying the plier cutting-edges S S they being located on the inside of the forked and jointed arms, between the tongs connection of the latter and the handles proper. It is well known that the eyes of shoe-buttons are liable to break from the button, and when it becomes necessary to remove the eyes and clinched staples sothat new buttons can be applied, the plier cutting-edges S S become useful, and by locating them inside of thehandles they are in a position where they do not interfere with the other work to be done by the tool. I am well aware that there would be no invention in broadly claiming cutting-pliers in combination with such an implement.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, 1s

1. In an implement for attaching buttons, which implementhas twojaws and handles and an intermediately-arranged tongs-pivot, the combination of the upper jaw, J, constructed with a front vertical slot, and the spring S, attached to the implement back of the tongspivot, said spring being constructed with a slot and upturned curve in its free end, as and for the purposes herein described and set forth.

2. In an implement for attaching buttons. which implement has twojaws and handles and an intermediately-arranged tongs-pivot, the combination of the npperjaw, J, constructed with afront vertical slot, the spring S, attached back of the tongs-pivot and its free end slotted and curved upwardly, and the lower jaw, J constructed with the sinks n n in its upper surface, as and for the purposes described and set forth.

3. In an implement for attaching buttons, which implement has twojawsand handles and an intermediately-arranged tongs-pivot, the combination of the upper jaw, J, constructed with a vertical slot in its front end, and a cross-recess on its under surface, the spring S, attached back ot'the tongs-pivot, said spring constructed with its free end slotted and curved upwardly, as and for the purposes free end slotted and curved upwardly, as and for the purposes described and set forth.

5. In an implement for attaching buttons, the combination of the upper jaw, J, con structed witha vertical slot in its front end, the lower jaw, J constructed with a raised sink-plate and sink on the upper face of the said jaw J the spripg-plate P, constructed to partly encircle said sink-plate and sink, and attached to the upper surface of the jaw J near its pivot,and the spring S, attached to the implement back of the tongspivot, with the. free end of said springSslotted and curved upwardly, as herein shown and described.

' 6. In an implement for attaching buttons, the combination of thejaws J and J, the former constructed with a vertical slotin its front end, and thejaw J with the sinks a n in its upper face, the handles H H, constructed with the plier-blades S S arranged between the handle ends, and the pivot T, and the spring S, attached back of the pivot with the free end of said spring slotted, and curved upwardly,

JOHN H. GOODFELLOW.

Witnesses:

CHARLES S. BRINTNALL, WM. A. SAXE. 

